MR NEO NAM HENG grew up in the era of pirate taxis in Singapore in the 1960s.
His father was a pah ong chia cabby, his mother ran a poultry farm, and as a teenager he sold Teochew porridge - all this to keep the family of seven together.
Even as a boy, Mr Neo (right) knew he had to start a business to progress in life. In 1978, with his and his family's savings, he started Cheng Yong Credit Enterprises and learnt how to export used motor vehicles while still running the family's hawker business.
Today Mr Neo, 52, the president of the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association, is the chairman of Cheng Yong Credit Investment Holdings, which is the pioneer parallel importer of motor vehicles in Singapore. It imports and exports vehicles worldwide, sells new and used vehicles, and does hire-purchase financing as well as car rental and fleet management.
Mr Neo also heads the Automobile Importer and Exporter Association (Singapore).
For years, he had urged the authorities to ease the regulations against parallel imports. When the breakthrough came in 1993, Mr Neo became the first to bring in the Mercedes-Benz, paving the way for greater competition and consumer benefits.
He also brought in new cars such as BMW and Jaguar as well as luxury Honda and Toyota models which the local agencies did not import. Authorised agents had then dismissed parallel importers as transient but by 2000, the rules were further liberalised and this made the business more viable.
One setback happened early in his business in 1984 after he expanded into the used car, car rental and leasing business. New rules forbade used private hire cars to be transferable for sale. He found himself stuck with a stock of such vehicles.
Mr Neo recalls: "It was a tough time but I was undaunted. I trusted our ability to overcome the crisis. I was determined to beat the odds."
His reputation as an honest and diligent businessman as well as his sincerity led to the sellers repurchasing the stock of vehicles from him. It saved the day for him.
This was one of many challenges he had faced, he adds.
His vision, he says, is to "help create a liberalised environment in Singapore's motor industry that is conducive for fellow trade members and to help set the stage for Singapore to become a regional motor hub".
He is now looking into operating taxis which use natural gas, importing quality used cars such as cabriolets and convertibles, and venturing into more overseas markets by exporting used Singapore-registered cars.
The expansion of his business has been due in no small measure to the "selfless contributions" of his younger brother Lam Pang, 49, the company's managing director, who has worked hard from the very start, says Mr Neo.
